Roxbury Holiness Camp, in Roxbury, Pa., began in the mid-1930s; Memorial Holiness Camp (MHC) began in West Milton, Ohio, in the mid-1940s. I grew up attending Roxbury Camp; I just finished attending my first MHC.
Camp meetings provide extended time together, five to ten days. Included in those days are preaching and teaching the Scriptures, testimonies of faith, a focus on world missions, programing for youth and children, common meals, enjoyable music, many opportunities for prayer, intergenerational games, snack shop treats, tons of volunteers helping to make camp happen, calls to follow Jesus, and more.
When families and individuals experience camp for multiple years and then multiple generations, the impact is quite powerful. Many persons in the BIC identify important life commitments to God at camp.
At the last meeting of MHC, I instructed the audience to bless those on either side with “God bless you.” I was leaving the tabernacle, now long minutes after conclusion, when an eight-year-old boy came up to me, no parents/guardians coaching, and said to me “God bless you!”
By whatever name we may call it, it’s worth teaming congregational ministry with a disciple-making structure like camp meeting.
God bless you, my friend,
Bishop Lynn